Now that the Apple universe has largely seen what stuff the iPhone 5S is made of, another iOS toy becomes the object of everyone's attention, which analyst dubbed as the phablet-size iPhone 6, its release date likely to happen anytime in 2014.

The mobile phone, as far as Apple is concerned, is non-existent yet it inspires not only streams of curiosity but of excitement. Why so?

Because for many Apple watchers, Number 6 reflects a major jump for the tech giant's best selling device. True, the iPhone 5S brings to the table loads of killer features - the new fingerprint scanner and the user interface, via the iOS 7, to name a few.

Yet for the great majority, the silent segment if you will, of Apple believers, the 5S could have been more - both inside and out.

It would have been great had the new gadget came with a larger screen than its current 4-inch plus its inner components all belonging to the upscale class that spans the smartphone standard this year and the following. But it is not.

Hence the disappointment leads to a list of specs and features below that hopefully Apple will deliver in 2014, via the prettier and more powerful iPhone 6.

Upsized display screen

Apple again killed its competitors when it introduced Retina display panel via the iPhone 4S. For sure, users appreciated the fact that they wield on their hands one of the best looking gadgets ever conceived with a screen that offers immersive rendition of clips and images.

Yet changes come too quick for the mobile device industry. Not only that users demand crystal-clear viewing windows, they also want it BIG or even stretched to the limits when possible.

Likely by next year, Apple will grant this wishes and put out an iPhone 6 with screen size that ranges from 4.5-inch to over the 5-inch mark, a likelihood that many reputable publications like The Wall Street Journal is buying into.

A8X chip in the quad-core class

Apple has refused to join the quad-core bandwagon for now and kept the 5S' A7 CPU on dual-core. The move is not entirely disappointing and early testers have attested that the new iPhone's processing prowess can squarely compete with the quad-muscled Android.

Still, there should be no stopping Apple from going four cores next year through the next-level A8 processor. After all, the company is proud of its reputation as maker of forward-looking products so why not accelerate the arrival of the future in the iPhone 6.

Liquid-metal case

Patents that were published this year strongly suggested that Apple is investigating the possibility of using new materials that will house and protect future generations of the iPhone and the iPad.

The top candidate remains an alloy of a top-notch metal rank, highlighting Apple's penchant to accentuate premium and solid build. Yet aside from achieving high level of durability or even indestructibility, the company also wants to present the iPhone 6 a unique build that no one else can mimic.

Enter liquid-metal, which with the employ of new gadget manufacturing techniques will allow Apple to shape its next iPhone in a form-factor that no competitors have yet to imagine.

128GB of built-in memory

This high-capacity was rumoured to be deployed with the iPhone 5S when its maker rolled out the 128GB iPad 4 earlier this year. But it did not materialise. Hopefully with the larger iPhone 6, Apple would give in to the demands and accept the reality that most iPhone users are unabashedly hoarders of digital files and they want to move around with these treasures.

The iOS 8 landing

The iOS 7 is not even a month old and there is a successor already, at least in the works. Why not? The iPhone has always been touted as the vessel of Apple's major innovation leap so while the company is at it, why not pack the gizmo with killer features galore, all hardwired into a new mobile platform called the iOS 8.

But there is a major catch in pushing for iOS 8 in the iPhone 6. Such enhancement cannot be rushed so the supposed first half of 2014 debut of the handset, as peddled by a number of Apple-focused analysts, will have to be pushed back.

In such case, it should be a safe bet that release date for both the iPhone 6 and iOS 8 will come later in 2014, probably well into the early fourth quarter of the year.